Eye Candy

Two of my favorite things to ogle in our new house: the reclaimed floors (that I spent hours cleaning today) and the antique pantry cupboard we bought at auction last fall. (Inspiration for the rest of the kitchen)

Cutting, Sanding, Painting, Oh My!

Much finishing is underway. Freezing temperature and sunny days, cutting trim, sanding trim, priming trim, painting trim. Drywall is nearly complete after which a massive cleaning session will ensue. We have the illusion of a bathroom sink - it's exact installation method yet to be decided. A tile floor in the upstairs bath, though a little wonky, will keep our tootsies warm with thermostat controlled radiant heat coils. The shower stall is tiled and looks incredible. Both bathrooms are the furthest along of all the spaces and hopefully soon a toilet will be installed. More updates to come soon I hope!

The start of the finish...

It's been a while since I've posted and the house is looking so much different. Piper and the crew have begun working on finish work!! Piper applied several coats of tung oil to the upstairs flooring and it looks beautiful. The color and grain have really come out and it looks tremendous.

The biggest change and one of the most exciting progressions so far has been the putting up of drywall and paneling. Although the stud walls have given us an idea of the layout, it wasn't until the drywall went up that we really saw the house take shape. We installed horizontal tongue and groove pine in the first floor bathroom and to the ceilings of the kitchen.

Despite some frosty walls delaying us a day, we began painting the bathroom so we can install lighting, the sink and medicine cabinet.

We're eagerly awaiting the arrival of the stove pipe roof kit so we can install the wood stove and keep the crew a little toastier during the day.

Flooring: A Love Story

The installation continues as we fall deeper and deeper in love with the new floor. From above and below am obsessed with it!

A little bit of history..

Part of the excitement of the installation of flooring comes from knowing its history. Almost a year ago, Piper, his dad Eddie and I, took the tractor down to the Far Barn at Currents, a structure that once stood strong at the bottom of the valley. It's roof had caved in and the silo hung off its side.

It was a sad day to see it go, as we often visited its aging tower. It is one of my most cherished and photographed locations, and we are excited to preserve its history in our home. The photos above were taken the day the silo fell. I was glad to have documented the process, a conclusion to its long life. The silo which stood nearly 30 feet tall was constructed of 5 inch wide tongue and groove Redwood planks. Most silos in that time were kits, sent by train from the west coast.

It didn't take much to bring it to the ground, where it fell in an ordered mess. The photo of Piper above, shows the beautiful aftermath, the ladder from shaft and the steel rings that kept its shape.

I created this short silent flick that night and hope you enjoy watching it!

joist the two of us

I was able to join Piper midday to help finishing sanding and painting the last of 28 4x8 beams that make up 14 floor joists. The 2 gallons of paint made it to beam number 27 before running dry -- a job that will be finished when we paint the underside of the flooring. I brought home a few samples of painted pine to experiment with distressing the joists. At the end of day, Piper pointed out these two creatures gearing up for battle. I can't help but wonder if really it's the beginning of a beautiful courtship.